This is a GREAT update from CEF, especially the walk through the budget stuff. Also note the new additions to Senate HELP and Approps committees. Discussion of Holman rule reiterates what I passed on to you last night… the key change here is that Members will now be able to offer amendments to appropriations bills that change individual federal employee salaries or eliminate positions. What this is — and it’s noted in the Post article referenced below — is a way to go after (or hold accountable, depending on your point of view) specific career federal employees, who otherwise could not be targeted because of civil service rules. I don’t think there is any immediate or direct cause for concern for us. Although, I guess this means that if you have someone at OCTAE you really don’t like, you can now lobby your Members of Congress to have them fired. (Note to anyone reading this who works at OCTAE - just kidding!) > Before this rule change, an agency’s budget could be cut broadly, but a specific program, employee or groups of employees could not be targeted because of civil service protections. > > Republicans and Trump advisers have been quietly drawing up plans since the election to erode some of the job protections and benefits that federal workers have received for a generation, starting with a hiring freeze Trump has pledged to put in place in his first 100 days in office. > Finally, the Post article also notes that the Holman Rule is named after an Indiana congressman who devised it in 1876. So now we know who Holman is. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_S._Holman Jef > Begin forwarded message: > > From: Sheryl Cohen <cohen@cef.org> > Subject: CEF Update: January 5, 2017 > Date: January 5, 2017 at 1:26:51 PM EST > To: CEFMembersList <CEFMembersList@cef.org> > > > > > > Thursday, January 5, 2017 > > Dear CEF Members: > > I. Advocacy > > · CEF in the 115th Congress – We are going to start introducing CEF to the new members of the education and appropriations committees immediately. We will reach out more broadly after the member retreat on January 27, when everyone has an opportunity to join CEF committees including Hill Teams, and once our new website and advocacy materials are launched. The House has not completed their committee assignments, but we are hearing that Rep. Scott Taylor (R-VA), Rep. Dan Newhouse (R-WA), and Rep. John Moolenaar (R-MI) will be joining the House Appropriations Committee. The new Senators on education funding committees are: > Senate HELP > o Maggie Hassan (D-NH) > o Tim Kaine (D-VA) > o Todd Young (R-IN) > Senate Appropriations > o John Kennedy (R-LA) > o Joe Manchin (D-WV) > o Marco Rubio (R-FL) > o Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) > > II. Policy Intelligence and Education News > > · Betsy DeVos confirmation hearing on January 11 – The Senate HELP Committee has scheduled the confirmation hearing for Education Secretary nominee Betsy DeVos on January 11th at 10:00 am. The hearing will be held in 430 Dirksen Senate Office Building. > > · Senate FY 2017 budget resolution reconciliation instructions – Senate Budget Committee Chairman Enzi has introduced a budget resolution <http://www.budget.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/HEN17065.pdf> for fiscal year 2017 that includes the reconciliation instructions intended to provide a fast track for repealing parts of the Affordable Care Act. It directs the committees with primary jurisdiction over health care (Senate Finance and Senate HELP, and House Ways and Means, and House Energy and Commerce Committees) to report legislation by January 27 that reduces the deficit by at least $1 billion (the total could be much larger, and could include gross increases and gross decreases as long as the net savings are at least $1 billion). It is not expected that the Senate HELP Committee will include any changes to student loan provisions in its reconciliation recommendations. > > · Pay no attention to the budget’s education spending levels – The budget sets spending levels at the Congressional Budget Office’s baseline level (i.e., discretionary spending at the cap levels, and mandatory spending at current law levels), with minor adjustments to reflect the continuing resolution. Current law levels for mandatory spending in budget function 500 (Education, Training, Employment, and Social Services) are therefore much higher than the levels in the budget approved by House Budget Committee Republicans last spring, which assumed large cuts in education spending. Nobody should get excited that the Senate levels are higher, since this budget resolution is really just a short-term means to an end – providing reconciliation protection for a measure to repeal parts of the Affordable Care Act. The spending levels in this budget resolution will be replaced by a fiscal year 2018 budget resolution later this spring. > > · Expectations for debate on the budget – The Senate is allowed up to 50 hours of debate on the budget, which has started and will likely conclude next Tuesday, followed by the so-called “vote-a-rama <http://keithhennessey.com/2010/03/25/vote-a-rama/>” beginning on Wednesday, during which amendments are quickly offered, lightly (if at all) debated, and then voted on. It’s possible that some Republicans will offer amendments to cut spending. We expect the House to then consider this budget resolution, perhaps finishing on January 13 because the House is not in session the following week except for January 20 for the inauguration, and committees need to report their reconciliation recommendations by the January 27 deadline. > > · New House rules allow votes to decrease federal employees’ pay – On Tuesday, House Republicans approved rules <http://docs.house.gov/billsthisweek/20170102/BILLS-115hres5-PIH-FINAL.pdf> for the 115th Congress that include reinstating the “Holman Rule” (ended in 1983) that allows amendments to appropriations bills to reduce the number or salaries of federal employees or reduce compensation to anyone paid by the Treasury. (Another part of the rule allows reducing spending levels in a bill, but that ability is not new.) What Representatives can now do is to change federal employee salaries or eliminate positions, which is the main concern of Democrats who voiced opposition to including the provision in the House. The Washington Post has an article <https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/virginia-politics/house-republicans-revive-obscure-rule-that-could-allow-them-to-slash-the-pay-of-individual-federal-workers-to-1/2017/01/04/4e80c990-d2b2-11e6-945a-76f69a399dd5_story.html?utm_term=.eeeebc52929c> about possible effects of the rule on federal employees. > > III. Events > > · January schedule for CEF – no meeting tomorrow – Below is the schedule of CEF events this month: > o Friday, January 6 – no CEF meeting! > o Tuesday, January 10 – CEF Board planning retreat > o Friday, January 13 – Friday meeting with guest speaker Gerry Petrella, Policy Director for Senate Minority Leader Schumer. Meeting is 9-11am at AFT (NOTE CORRECTED ADDRESS: 555 NJ Ave, NW). > o Friday, January 20 – no CEF meeting (Inauguration Day) > o Friday, January 27 – CEF Member retreat, 8:45-1:30pm, location TBD > > · Brookings “From bridges to education: Best bets for public investment” on January 9 – Brookings is holding a day-long event with panel discussions on where public investment spending will have the greatest returns, and two papers on what the evidence shows about education and other areas. It concludes with presentations from Reps. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) and Tom Reed (R-NY) on the challenges of translating evidence into policy. More information is available here <https://www.brookings.edu/events/from-bridges-to-education-best-bets-for-public-investment/>. > > IV. Job listings from CEF members > > · Advance CTE - Advance CTE is seeking a Senior Associate to help advance federal policy priorities and initiatives. The ideal candidate will have policy experience in education or workforce development, a desire to go deep within a focused policy area, and be a team player committed to getting results in a fast-paced environment. Applications are due January 20. Full information is posted here. <http://www.careertech.org/careers> > > · National PTA – National PTA is seeking a Senior Manager of Advocacy to build the advocacy capacity and skills of parent volunteers and increase and support their engagement as key stakeholders in the implementation of the Every Student Succeeds Act at the federal, state and local levels. The job description is posted onCareers at National PTA <http://www.pta.org/about/content.cfm?ItemNumber=5083&navItemNumber=550>. Interested candidates should submit a cover letter, resume and salary requirements to hr@pta.org <mailto:hr@pta.org>. Please include “Senior Manager of Advocacy” in the subject line. > > · AERA Congressional Fellowship – AERA is accepting applications through January 17 for the 2017-2018 AERA Congressional Fellowship. The fellowship is a year-long opportunity, running from September 1st through August 31st, to use education research skills to inform public policy in a Congressional office in Washington, D.C. The deadline to apply is January 17, 2017. More information about the Fellowships is available online at: http://www.aera.net/Research-Policy-Advocacy/AERA-Congressional-Fellowship <http://www.aera.net/Research-Policy-Advocacy/AERA-Congressional-Fellowship> or emailcongressionalfellows@aera.net <mailto:congressionalfellows@aera.net>. To apply to the fellowship, click here <http://forms.logiforms.com/formdata/user_forms/7993_9562493/340126/page1.html?cachebust=163>. > > My best, > > Sheryl > > > Sheryl V. Cohen, Executive Director > > 1800 M Street, NW > Suite 500 South > Washington, DC 20036 > T: 202-327-8125 > cohen@cef.org <mailto:cohen@cef.org> > www.cef.org <http://www.cef.org/>